AFTER HER LANDSLIDE win in the presidential election today, Independent Catherine Connolly is heading for the Áras.

Connolly will be officially inaugurated as the 10th Uachtarán na hÉireann on Tuesday 11 November.

Michael D Higgins will leave the office after his fourteen year term on November 10.

The Irish constitution stipulates that the incoming president must be inaugurated the day after the outgoing president’s term ends. 

In a statement this evening, President Higgins said:  “The President-elect will have the full support of this office as she prepares for her Inauguration next month.”

Higgins’ first inauguration was on Friday 11 November back in 2011. His second inauguration took place in the evening of Sunday 11 November in 2018 so that ministers could travel to France for events commemorating the centenary of the end of the First World War earlier in the day.  

While no details have been confirmed as yet, it’s expected Connolly’s inauguration will be earlier in the day. 

Although no official venue is stated in the constitution, all previous ceremonies have taken place in St Patrick’s Hall in Dublin Castle. Attendees include government leaders, TDs, senators, members of the judiciary and Defence Forces representatives – along with family members whoever the new president chooses to invite, of course. 

During the ceremony the incoming president takes the oath of office below the tricolour. According to a piece on presidential inaugurations on the Dublin Castle website, every president to date has chosen to take this oath in Irish. Being a prominent Gaeilgeoir, Catherine Connolly is expected to do the same.

After she recites the oath, Connolly will then sign the declaration and deliver her first address as Uachtarán na hÉireann. The chief justice Donal O’Donell will then present her with the presidential seal.

History of the inauguration 

Inauguration days have drawn large crowds in the past, but more recent ones have been smaller-scale events without much of a public element. They’re generally televised live on the day. 

According to Dublin Castle’s information officer Evan McGuigan, the ceremonies over the years have often reflected the issues of the day in the presidential addresses. Both Eamon De Valera and Seán T O’Kelly discussed sovereignty and the struggle for independence in their addresses. 

Mary Robinison was arguably the first to use her inauguration speech to reflect wider topics, drawing attention to human rights around the world and the Irish diaspora.

When Mary McAleese was inaugurated in 1997 she declared her presidency was about “building bridges”, while Michael D Higgins centred “inclusion and creativity” in his 2011 address.

Though many elements of the ceremony have reflected the story of Irish independence some date further back.

A chair originally made for Dublin Castle during the reign of Queen Victoria was used for all presidential ceremonies between 1938 and 2004. A new presidential chair was commissioned for the inauguration of Michael D Higgins in 2011.